Agricultural picker and assorter



Jan. 2, 1951 c. E. LANG ET AL AGRICULTURAL PICKER AND ASSORTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1947 BY 2 2 a J 550mm;

Jan. 2, 1951 c, N ET AL 2,536,507

AGRICULTURAL PICKER AND ASSORTER Filed Jan. 21, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 2, 1951 AGRICULTURAL PICKER AND ASSORTER Charles Edwin Lang, Glenarm, Md., Albert Karnemaat and John Jansma, Fremont. Mich., Iac isignors to C. C. Lang & Son, Inc., Baltimore,

Application January 21, 1947, Serial No. 723,332

7 Claims. (Cl. 214-83.1)

This invention relates to agricultural equipment and more particularly to those employable for the hand picking of ground vegetables, especially those of the nature of cucumbers and the like.

It is customary to pick various ground vegetables at ripening by hand labor. The pickers walkon the ground between the rows where the vegetables are located, and bend over to pick them up as they notice them. From the hand they are placed in an apron or basket carried by the pickers which becomes heavy as the picked items pile up therein. The work done by this method is slow and laborious and relatively expensive. Its main objection from the canners point of view, is that it requires a large number of pickers to pick up a certain amount of the vegetables within the limited period of time allowed for their removal from the ground and deposit them where the ,canners can process them. The physical effects on the pickers are considerable, as the picking requires the bending of the back continuously, which in short while, becomes painful and tiresome, and by the end of the day renders the worker extremely fatigued. The rate of picking is greatly reduced by theseeffects, after a while.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved agricultural vehicle for facilitating the picking of vegetables from the ground.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved agricultural vehicle for pick- .ing up vegetables from the ground, that will enable hand-picking to be done conveniently; provide for the sorting of the vegetables so picked, and enable the capacity to do such work to be done at a greatly increased rate.

A further object is to provide a new and improved agricultural vehicle for removing vegetables from the ground, by hand, facilitated by mechanism cooperatively operated by mechanical power, which incidently enables sorting and packaging to be included in addition to the picking. At the same time to use the vehicle for carrying the pickers employed and eliminate the efiort and the necessity for their walking and bending over to do the picking.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a clearer understanding of the invention and the objects thereof, reference is made to the appended drawings and the following description, which together outline a particular form, by way of illustration, while the claims indicate the scope and principles of the invention.

2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a rear view of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view looking along line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

Briefly the machine consists of a vehicle driven by power, a carrier for human pickers to be-employed with the vehicle, and conveyor and sorting mechanism to transfer the vegetables picked, and sort them according to their sizes.

The vehicle employed is that of a conventional chassis 10, supported and running on tired wheels H, one set of two being arranged on an axle l2, while another set of two are on an axle I3 is guidably operated by a steering mechanism M. This steering mechanism I4 is operated through the use of a steering wheel l5 and steering column l6, as well as by an auxiliary foot pedal bar 11. The steering wheel is placed above the chassis in its conventional location. The foot pedal bar I! through the use of pedals I9 is operated close to the end of the stretcher 32 by the feet of a picker. The Vehicle is actuated by an internal combustion engine 20 mounted on but above the chassis. It connects with the rear wheel axle l2 and operates the latter through the rear end gears in a housing 2|. The engine also has a transmission clutch 22 coupling it to the rear gears through a transmission rod 23. The transmission clutch is arranged for variable speed control of the movement of the vehicle. A universal joint 24 is used if necessary or desirable. Tank 25 is used for supplying fuel to be utilized in the engine 20, and is mounted in a suitable place on the chassis Ill. The auxiliary foot pedal bar I! is connected with the steering mechanism 14 by means of links 26 that operate the mechanism [4 almost as effectively as the steering mechanism through the use of a conventional worm wheel 21 rotated by a worm gear. To do this, the links 26 are attached to steering column I 6 so as to rotate it independently of the steering wheel I5. Brakes H8 preferably of the hydraulic type are used with the wheels I i in the usual manner and applied by a lever mechanism I 8 through piping 21 and 28. The carrier used for the pickers to lie prone on, includes preferably three stretcher-like frames 3|, 32 and 33, over which canvas mattresses 34 are attached to keep them tensioned, and permit their renewal whenever desirable. The frames 3!, 32, and 33 are suspended from extension stringers 33 and 36 attachedzto the-chassis Ill. {Iheyeextend front of the-vehicle chassis lllsso asto oarry individuals lying prone on the stretchers. The individuals lie on these stretchers with their heads towards the front end of the frames, where a trough structure 3'? is arranged transversely across the vehicle.

The trough structure 3l .is.usedtto. receive the cucumbers l3 picked up by r-thel'hands of cthe pickers from the ground and thrown into it. There is sufficient space betweenstheframes 31, 32 and 33 to allow the pickers to woi'k'their hands in between them and also reach imder'the stretchers to the grourfd. For this purpose the frames 3!, 32 and 33QIXGLKGQt-SQSIJGHdGdwQVGI'$113 ground without obstruction about 5.6" off the ground, as shown in theqdrawings.

sThe' trough :31 has a transversely disposed. conveyor 3B in it, and is of the belt andsisrpreferably provided "with? slats w9 gCLOSSWlS .on: it to propel and carry the cucumbers dropped onit. The belt is en'dless and-nuns: on;-pul1eys 43, which in turn are turned through a suitable transmission 4|. Attheendof' the travel of-this'conveyor is located :an opening-.4 2unto-which the cucumbers are dropped as they come off the .conveyor 38. The-dropped acucunrbersedroppedl from the conveyor 38 pass throughaopening fl whichgguides them :to-ra secondaryzrconveyor-43. :The be-lt fl of this iCOl'1V8y0lr43WiDhithe' help of .its crosswise slatsiifi-carr-iesthe cucumbersx up-zan incline-along the sside ofthe 2.8131813011813 frame 33 and .d-umps them into awshufiie-e-axnd assortingaboxltt. The conveyor :43 is similar cto :thex first-conveyor :38, with itstbejlt-"nil'cendless, running on the :pu-lleys .4 5 and operated by' ai gear 38 connected? bys ear 35 .throughcshaft .130 :to gears-i3! 'and lUZ' to shaft Hi3. 'A'agear lf|4::p ositioned =on-sha-ft 1-03 through gear H drives the transmission 2' shaft H so they :willioperate "at approximately .the

same speed.

The. sorter structure: consists: of the :shufiiebox 46, I mounted r slidab'ly con 3 the ahhassis frame :l 0 and is :preferably sofzrectangularform. :I'n'side theisnuifle box 33 uisnplaced 11a sorting screen-431 having: convergingwvallsi48, 243::and: 5.0: and fiat bottoms-"52 respectively mtende'dtto taketcaremf three sizessof cucumbers connected. windows or slots 54;:55 and 3fiii respectively the bottoms arermade to permit the ipassageiioft-the various sizes of cucumbers arranged for. partitions-5i is erected in the 'screen 41 to *separate it into compartments 'z-long itudinally. flilnderneath .sthe screen 41 is run conveyor beItsT58' OII- WhlChFLre positioned on pulleys til and: support slatsL-iS l on which spaced-pegs 59 project upwardly through the holes 54, 55 and 56 so" as to engage any cuoumbers standing "still-on the -screen 41 --:and movesthem along 'so they -w'-ill fall through one of the slots; by a *bevel-gear fiii attached to-shaft 6 l contactsa gear 83 positioned Qns'ha-ft B-I and drives a'gear 38 which-'drivesgear iiilattached to pulley 80. V Atrembler cam" 33- rotates on asheif-tfiband periodically contacts a "stop -'33' attached to the bottom of the screen 4] "and slides itquick enough to give iit'a shaking action and thus keep the cucumbers fromsticking.

Three sets of drawers 62 63-and' B4; are placed the box 46 so as to register'under the respective 4 holes 54, 55 and 56, and hold the cucumbers that drop through them. When they are full these drawers are takenout and their contents dumped out and sent to the next processing device. The gear drives a gear 9| attached to shaft 92 aanrlithrough its gear 93 drives -gear 194 attached "toa shaftillfi. The shaftlfil is drivenby gears H4 and H5.

iThree pickers lie flat on the stretchers so as to raise them above the ground comfortably with theirarms reaching down the sides of the frames 31,- 32,-and '34 as the-case may be. The stretchers 222178 narrow enough to allow this. The pickers .iare...carriedralong;as the vehicle travels at slow speed across the :ground, and they pick up cu- .cumbers as they pass over same. These cucumbers are dropped into the trough 31, and carried byithegconveyor belt 38 to the pan 42 and sent into the secondary conveyor belt 44, which in 7 turn carries them to the shuffle box. The shuf fie box 46 slides the cucumbers down the-converging walls of the screens and-allows them'to drop through the openings. in the bottom according to size. The thicker and longer cucumbers are carried by the pegs 59 of the conveyor 58 to the openings large enough to: pass them through. The shaking of thescreen-M bythe .tremblercam 63 causes the screen-toshake the cucumbers sufficiently to make them-keep from sticking or allowing them to. form a jam. The sorting by the pickers isiso convenient that the vehicle'can be propelled alongthe'ground at a relatively fast speed as .compared with the old walking and bending over method, and yet not be-exceptionally tiring. :They are so close tothe ground that they have little opportunity to .miss any of the vegetables. At the same time, the operation of throwing the picked cucumbers into the trough is so simple, and convenient, that it permits speedy picking. The pickers avoid carrying. the weight of. a quantity ,{of the vegetables and they .do not have to bend their backs continuously as heretofore. The conveyors serve to facilitate the transfer. of the-vegetables from one part-of the structure to aanotherautomatically, and in the end sort them according-to sizes. .This'saves. time and avoids. .dual handling :which; are: required .by the :older methods. At thesame time one of the operators can. control the steering of the vehicle with his feet, avoiding any necessity for stopping the. continuity of the picking up work, to do. so.

:While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specifications, i-tis notdesired to limit this appiication for patent to this particular form or in any other wayotherwise than limited-by the scope thereof, asit-is-appreciated that other forms of constructioncould be made that would use the same principles and-come within the scope of the appended-claims:

Having thus described theinvention; what is claimed is:

I We claim:

1. A vehicle of the class described comprising in'combination, a propelled vehicle; a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned tocorne close to the ground while the-vehicle travels along, said frame "being arranged to; hold an individual prone thereonso he can use-his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and means on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual and means on the vehi'cle actuable by the individual lying in a prone position for steering said Vehi le 2. A vehicle of the class described comprising in combination, a propelled vehicle, a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned to come close to the ground while the vehicle travels along, said frame being arranged to hold an individual prone thereon so he can use his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and means on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual, and thrown by him therein, and means for conveying said vegetables from one part of the vehicle to another and a mechanism on the frame connected with the steering parts of the vehicle and located so as to be operable by the feet of the prone individual for steering the vehicle.

3. A vehicle of the class described comprising in combination, a propelled vehicle, a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned to come close to the ground While the vehicle travels along, said frame being arranged to hold an individual prone thereon so he can use his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and means on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual, thrown by him therein, and means for conveying said vegetables from one part of the vehicle to another, and means on the vehicle arranged to receive the vegetables from said last mentioned means and sorting them and a mechanism geared to the vehicle so as to guide same through the use of the feet of said individual lying in a prone position.

4. A vehicle of the class described comprising in combination, a propelled vehicle, a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned to come close to the ground while the vehicle travels along, said frame being arranged to hold an individual prone thereon so he can use his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and means on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual, thrown by him therein, and means for conveying said vegetables from one part of the vehicle to another, means on the vehicle arranged to receive the vegetables from said last mentioned means and sorting them, and means for steering the vehicle operated by said individual from his prone position by the manipulation of his feet and independently of his picking efforts by his hands.

5. A vehicle of the class described comprising in combination, a propelled vehicle, a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned to come close to the ground while the vehicle travels, along, said frame being arranged to hold an individual prone thereon so he can use his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and means on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual, thrown by him therein, and means for conveying said vegetables from one part of the vehicle to another, means on the vehicle arranged to receive the vegetables from said last mentioned means and sorting them, means for steering the vehicle operated by said individual when in prone position and through the use of his feet, and power means for operating the vehicle, and said conveying and sorting means.

6. A vehicle of the class described comprising in combination, a propelled vehicle, a frame projecting from said vehicle positioned to come close to the ground while the vehicle travels along, said frame being arranged to hold an individual prone thereon so he can use his arms on either side thereof and have access to vegetables on the ground and mean on said vehicle for collecting said vegetables picked up by said individual, thrown by him therein, and means for conveying said vegetables from one part of the vehicle to another, means on the vehicle arranged to receive the vegetables from said ,last mentioned means and sorting them, means for steering the vehicle operated by said individual, power means for operating the vehicle, and said conveying and sortin means, said steering means being operable by feet of said individual interlinked with conventional steering mechanism for the vehicle said means being disposed on said frame and operable when said individual is in a prone position.

7. A machine for carrying pickers for picking up cucumbers from a, field comprising in combination, a vehicle including chassis, wheels for carrying the chassis and an engine for operating the wheels, a frame extending from the chassis at the rear thereof, stretchers mounted on the frame for workers to lie on in a position for picking up said cucumbers from said field, steering mechanism connected with said wheels with projecting pedals adjacent to said workers so as to be operable thereby in their lying down position, a trough for receiving the cucumbers as delivered by said workers as picked up thereby, a belt for delivering the cucumbers from the trough, a shuflle box for receiving the cucumbers from the belt, and means for sorting the cucumbers in sizes from said box.

CHARLES EDWIN LANG. ALBERT KARNEMAAT. JOHN JANSMA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 1,504,846 Tarkington Aug. 1.2, 1924 1,562,929 Trovaton Nov. 24, 1925 2,169,521 Chong a- Aug. 15, 1939 2,267,234 Garber Dec. 23, 1941 2,317,606 Harris Apr. 27, 1943 2,321,387 Jackson June 8, 1943 2,377,838 Collings June 5, 1945 2,378,847 Harris June 19, 1945 

